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. 2023 Feb;58(2):309-318.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-022-02376-x. Epub 2022 Nov 17.

Cancer mortality in Common Mental Disorders: A 10-year retrospective cohort study

Federico Chierzi  1 , Elisa Stivanello  2 , Muriel Assunta Musti  2 , Vincenza Perlangeli  2 , Paolo Marzaroli  2 , Francesco De Rossi  3 , Paolo Pandolfi  2 , Alessio Saponaro  4 , Luigi Grassi  5 , Martino Belvederi Murri  5 , Angelo Fioritti  1 , Domenico Berardi  3 , Marco Menchetti  6
Affiliations

Cancer mortality in Common Mental Disorders: A 10-year retrospective cohort study

Federico Chierzi et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: Individuals with Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) may have a higher cancer mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine cancer-related mortality among patients with CMDs and verify which cancer types are predominantly involved.

Methods: We used the Regional Mental Health Registry of the Emilia-Romagna region, in Northern Italy to identify patients aged ≥ 18 years who received an ICD 9-CM diagnosis of CMDs (i.e., depressive and neurotic disorders) over a 10 year period (2008-2017). Information on cause of death was retrieved from the Regional Cause of Death Registry. Comparisons were made with data from the regional population without CMDs.

Results: Among 101,487 patients suffering from CMDs (55.7% depression; 44.3% neurotic disorders), 3,087 (37.8%) died from neoplasms. The total standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 1.82 (95% CI 1.78-1.86) while the SMR for all neoplasms was 2.08 (95% CI 2.01-2.16). Individuals of both genders, with both depressive and neurotic disorders had a higher risk of death from almost all cancers compared with the regional population.

Conclusion: Patients with CMDs have considerably higher cancer mortality risk than the general population. Higher mortality was observed for a broad range of cancers associated with different aetiologies. It is imperative to promote cancer awareness, prevention and treatment for people with CMDs.

Keywords: Cancer; Comorbidity; Mortality; Physical illness; Public mental health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for site-specific malignant neoplasm by gender
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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